


Take It Easy

by Aweebwrites



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Cryptor bleeds oil, Near Death Experiences, a lot of oil blood, oni masks - Freeform, the ninja are worried
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 16:25:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18781879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aweebwrites/pseuds/Aweebwrites
Summary: Use the Oni Mask of Vengeance for training they said... What could go wrong?





	Take It Easy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sayijo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sayijo/gifts).



> This version of Cryptor may be ooc to you guys. He's @Sayijo's on tumblr. Basically Cryptor was Mr. E so keep that in mind to understand the fic a but more.

Cryptor tried to blink away the grogginess in his eyes as he headed out front to where he was assuming all the ninja were. According to the clock, he had blacked out for 17 hours but he felt as if he hadn’t slept in days.

‘Fuck. Why the hell does sleep have to be so complicated.’ He thought irritably before sliding the door open, hissing immediately as daylight assaulted his eyes.

“Oh good. You’re alive.” Kai says as he blinked rapidly, his eyes sluggish with adjusting to the light.

“Sadly.” Cryptor says drily then patted himself down, pulling out a cigarette a moment after.

“Why smoke when it doesn’t even affect you?” Jay asked, pausing his sparring with Zane.

“Fuck you that’s why.” He huffed as he lit it then took a deep drag, letting the smoke escape through the unplated side of his mouth.

“Rude.” Jay huffed, crossing his arms.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of bed.” Cole smirked, giving his hammer a swing before setting it on his shoulder. “Maybe a workout can change that. We wanted to practice fighting against someone wearing an Oni Mask again and since you have one…” He suggested, looking at him expectantly.

He sighed, smoke escaping his lips and the uncovered side of his mouth that revealed sharp, jagged, metallic teeth.

“I don’t see why not.” He says, rolling his shoulders as he leaned off of the doorway.

“I call first dibs!” Kai called out as he passed Cryptor to go inside, the Nindroid swearing under his breath at Kai’s loud voice hurting his head.

He needed an update where he could turn down auditory reception. Visual too. Kai returned moments later with the mask and Cryptor took it from him.

“For the sake of your well being, you better have only touched the mask.” He says, narrowing his eyes at Kai who held his hands up in surrender.

“You appear exhausted. Perhaps if you aren’t up for it-”

“Shut up Zane. I wouldn’t say I would if I wasn’t up to it.” Cryptor sneered before flicking the cigarette into his mouth and chewing it, just for the sole purpose of seeing Jay and Cole cringe at him in horror. “Let’s do this.” He says, slipping the mask on.

He hunched over as red hot power coursed through him, making him glow with it. Horns grew from the mask itself as his glowing red arms duplicated. Once the rush of power cooled, he pulled out four sets of red bladed swords with a growl.

“Dramatic much? And did you sleep with those?” Jay asked, gesturing to the four swords he held.

He wouldn’t admit he was still secretly awed every time a transformation happened however.

“How about you come over here and I’ll show you dramatic.” Cryptor spoke, his voice deeper and growly due to the mask.

“No way. I have dibs on kicking your ass first.” Kai says, circling him with a sword in hand.

“We’ll see about that hot head.” Cryptor smirked behind the mask before charging at him.

Kai blocked all four swords with his own, grunting under the weight of his newfound strength. He was about to take a cheap blow to the stomach when he heard a crack.

“Huh?” He says, looking up at his sword.

He only had enough time to jump back out of the way when his sword broke in two, the top half skidding half way across the training yard. Kai looked down at the hilt of his sword in surprise. Then anger.

“I forged this  _yesterday_! Did you know how long it took me!” He yelled then stroked it. “It was supposed to be my strongest sword yet…” He whispered sadly.

“Now you know it’s a piece of shit.” Cryptor says irritably.

He was all fired up and it’s over already? Fuck that.

“My turn.” Cole says as he walked over, pushing Kai aside.

Without further prompting, he swung his hammer at Cryptor who jumped back out of the way before charging at him. His swords clashed against his hammer, sending sparks flying. Cryptor slammed the hilt of his sword in his lower right hand into Cole’s stomach, making him grunt before using his hammer as leverage to swing a high kick at him. Cryptor caught his foot in hand and Cole grinned sheepishly. Cryptor smirked beneath the mask, revealing metallic fangs before swinging him around by his leg then let go, watching as he crashed into the far wall.

“Lightning!” Jay yelled, hitting him with a large bolt of it and Cryptor grunted from the initial impact before charging at him, the mask giving him some resistance to their attacks.

“Truce?” Jay squeaked before ducking out of the way of his swords- only to duck right into a knee to the chin.

“You may be taking this a little too seriously.” Zane says, as he drew his arrow tight in his bow.

“A necessity. Do you think if someone else got their hands on the mask they’d take it easy on you?” Cryptor asked as he walked forward slowly, using his sword to block the arrow aimed at his shoulder then the other aimed for the mask.

“Aaahhh!” Kai yelled as he jumped on Cryptor’s back, locking his legs around his waist and reaching for the mask.

He reached up to throw him off but Jay held on to his right set of hands, Cole quickly holding on to the left. Zane ran forwards then reached up to take of the mask but then Cryptor threw them all back, simply by straightening.

“Wanna try that again?” He asked them with a smirk as they all groaned on the ground.

“Oh we will!” Kai growled as he sat up then winced. “In a second but we will!” He says, throwing Cryptor a glare.

_At least this promises to be entertaining._

_____________

“Ow!”

“Shit!”

“Dammit!”

“We must keep- ugh, trying.”

“Oof!”

“Oh come on!”

“That was almost critical!”

“Dude what the  _fuck_?!”

“Alright. Time out.” Cole panted from on his back, his hammer lodged into the wall behind him.

“Again?” Cryptor asked, relaxing his defensive stance.

“ _Yes_  again.” Jay says as he sat up. “If you haven’t realized, you’re  _impossible_  to beat.”

“We need a break and a new strategy or else we’ll spend even longer than 4.8 hours trying to defeat you.” Zane says as he took stock of his arm that took particularly hard hit.

It was functional but he might need to tighten the shoulder joint after this.

“Fine. Whatever.” Cryptor shrugged then walked over to the closest wall, leaning against it as they all huddled on the other side of the training yard.

He didn’t bother to take off the mask. What’s the point when he would be kicking their asses again in a few minutes. He cleared his throat then took a deep breath when his chest felt a little tight. Strange. His systems aren’t indicating anything unusual…

“Are you ready to go again?!” Cole called out moments later, pulling his hammer from out of the wall.

“I have been all day.” He smirked, walking over to them.

__________

Jay yelled as Cryptor spun him around in the air with his upper two hands then tossed him directly into Kai before ducking out of the way of Cole’s hammer. He took that moment to cough into his hand, his chest feeling a little tighter than usual.

“You ok?” Cole asked as he stood, clearing his throat.

“I’m fine.” Cryptor confirmed before kicking him in the stomach, sending hom flying back with a yell.

_______

“Are you sure you’re ok? We can take a break you know?” Kai says with a frown, watching him past their clashing swords as he coughed into his hand.

He waved his concern off with his upper left as he continued to cough, coming up seconds later.

“M’ fine.” He spoke with a slight rasp to his already growly voice.

He spotted movement in his sword’s reflection then pushed Kai back then ducked, allowing Jay to jump over him and directly into Kai.

“WE AGREED NO MORE JUMP TACKLES JAY!”

“But it would be more unexpected if we did after agreeing not to!”

_________

Almost 8 hours in and it was becoming difficult to breathe.

“Time out.” Cryptor finally called, taking off the mask and allowing his additional arms and fangs to vanish.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Kai asked with a worried look as Cryptor began to cough yet again, each one shaking him bodily.

“I’m fine. I just… It’s a little hard to breathe behind the mask.” He got out, panting a little as he kept his slightly raspy voice as level as possible.

He felt something slowly trickling down the palm and looked at it- only to be surprised at the sight of black oil in his palm.

“That doesn’t look ok.” Kai pointed out, even more concerned.

“Look, it’s fine. I just need a breather.” He says, waving him off as he headed inside.

“Alright. Take it easy then.” Kai says, watching him as he walked inside.

He’ll check in on him later, just to make sure.

“Looks like the ones Sensei buys are up to better stuff.” Jay says, gaining Kai’s attention.

He was holding up the broken sword he may have admittedly slightly rushed in making in time for today.

“Shut up.”

________

Cryptor hunched over the side of his bed, coughing something fierce, barely able to get a breath in between each body jerking cough. Shit. What the fuck is this? Was it the cigarette? But he had been smoking for years without this happening. He looked down at the black oil dripping from his hand as he wheezed. He swiped at his mouth with the back of his other hand before cleaning up the mess of oil on his hand and on the floor. No need for anyone to lose their shit. It’ll most likely go away on its own anyway.

__________

It did not go away on its own. Not at all. In fact, it got  _worse_. It felt as if there was a building pressing against his chest and the coughs have only gotten more frequent and more oily. Not to mention the lightheaded feeling and dizzy spells…

He coughed into a rag, struggling to make it stop before-

“Maybe we should get you checked out. I mean, Mr. Borg wouldn’t mind…” Kai says as they all watched him cough at the dinner table.

“It’s just a bug.” He wheezed out before coughing again.

“ _'Just a bug’._  Right.” Jay says sarcastically but his face was filed with worry for their robotic friend.

“How long has this been going on?” Wu asked his students, eyeing Cryptor critically.

“Since training.” Cole supplied as Cryptor took ragged breaths, his chest feeling too tight, too heavy while his head felt far too light.

He placed his forehead in his palm once his dizzy spell intensified. Fuck. He hasn’t felt this awful since his left arm was ripped off in an accident for the umpteenth time and he was left bleeding out for a while.

“It’ll pass. Don’t worry about it.” He rasped, even though he felt as if he was on death’s door.

“Keep telling yourself that.” Zane says, unconvinced. “It may be late but I should be able to reach him…”

Cryptor stopped listening, a shudder racing through him once he felt something running down the side of his head.

“… I’ll be back.” He says then got up abruptly- regretting it instantly when his vision blackened for a moment as the world spun violently.

It was sheer will and the ability to lock his joints why he hadn’t collapsed. He headed for the bathroom before they could start pestering him to  _'take it easy’_. He leaned heavily against the sink, taking a moment to simply breathe. Just the walk from the dining table to the bathroom leaving him breathless. Already he could feel another coughing fit about to come on. He looked up at himself in the mirror then froze at what he saw.

He reached a hand up and touched his wet cheek and looked at it. His eye… It was leaking oil. His ears too. Even his nose.

“Well fuck. That’s unfortunate.” He says, oil running from his mouth as the words left him.

Ok. This was bad. This was a very bad sign. He hunched over as another coughing fit took hold of him violently, leaving him holding onto the sink tightly so he doesn’t fall over. He tried to get a breath in but only ended up breathing in the oil he was coughing up, sending him into an even worse coughing fit. He lurched, throwing up oil into the sink, the porcelain cracking under his tight grip as his vision swam with oil. He could feel it leaking down his face, see it dripping off his nose.

Oh shit. Was he going to actually die like this? He was expecting to go down in a fight or motorcycle accident- the latter being more likely- but not like  _this_. Leaking oil everywhere and suffocating with no idea what the fuck was going on with him.

“Cry, you alright in there? You’ve been gone a while…” Jay says from the other side of the bathroom door, both nervous and worried.

Well, maybe not alone. He threw up again and Jay must have heard because he opened the door- then promptly shrieked.

“ _What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck **what the fuck**_ **?!** ” He yelled, eyes darting around, trying to think of something to stop his friend from possibly  _dying_.

_Jay you fucking idiot._

He didn’t have the strength to say it and hardly had enough to not pass out. The sink was the only thing keeping him mostly upright.

“What is it?!” Kai yelled as he and the others rushed over to see Cryptor weakly coughing over the sink, oil flowing from his eye, ears, nose and mouth like a fountain. “Shit! Move it Jay!” He yelled, shoving him aside and rushing in with Zane and Cole.

“He is losing a fatal amount of oil.” Zane advised as they proved his fingers away from the edges of the sink, all three of them taking on his weight once he crumpled without the sink as support.

“ _Thanks for the update Zane we can **clearly**  see that_!” Cole snapped as they heaved him up so they could carry him out.

Cryptor was fading in and out, hearing muffled yelling and seeing blurred movements.

_Tired…_

_Sleep…_

__________

When he woke next, he felt as if he was run over by a truck. His head was throbbing painfully, his throat felt as if he swallowed razors and his entire abdomen felt like a giant sore.

“Look who’s awake.” He glanced down from his place on the couch, laid back with a pillow under his head and a blanket thrown.

Kai was there seated on the armrest, looking down at him.

“You scared the shit out of us, I hope you know that.” He huffed, looking run down and Cryptor frowned.

Seeing him look like that made him feel…

“It would have passed.” He spoke quietly, his voice raspy and irritating his already sore throat.

“More like  _you_  would have passed.” Kai huffed, wanting to be angry but knew it wasn’t his fault per say. “And no talking. You sound like shit.” He says with a weak smile.

“Ah. Cryptor. Glad to see you are awake.” Wu says as he and Zane walked in.

“Glad to be awake.” He rasps, ignoring Kai’s glare. “I just needed some rest is all.”

“You still do.” Zane pointed out. “While your condition has improved with oil transfusions and rest, Sensei Wu and I estimate it will take a few days for you to be your usual self again.” He told him.

“I’m fine. It was just a bug.” He told them shifting to sit up but startling when hands pushed him down.

He immediately flipped them, Cole grunting once he landed on the ground next to the couch.

“Forgot about that little trigger.” Cole wheezed, deciding to lay there to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him from the impact.

Cryptor began coughing again and Kai handed him a rag before pushing him down fully on the couch.

“No more flipping anybody.” He says sternly.

“Kai is right. Your body requires time and rest for a proper recovery.” Wu told him once his coughs came to an end, leaving him wheezing.

Wu then frowned.

“We have however yet to figure out the cause of your condition.”

“About that Sensei.” Zane says, turning to him. “Cryptor appeared fine before training- aside from initial exhaustion. It was during the middle to last leg of training when something changed. I think I know what.” He says, gaining everyone’s attention.

“Well? Spit it out already.” Jay says from behind the couch, keeping his distance so he doesn’t get flipped too.

“His coughing fits started up during that time frame and only got worse. What stood out is shortly after he called for a break. He said  _'It was getting hard to breathe behind the mask’_. I may not know how but it’s safe to assume that the cause of his sudden ailment is connected to the mask.” Zane told Wu who hummed ad he thought it through.

“It’s passed already. I’m fine.” Cryptor insists, sounding and looking weak.

Kai looked at the oil stained rag he held close then at him with an unimpressed expression before looking back to Zane and Wu.

“… The Oni Masks were made to be used by Oni whom are far more resilient than any human or Nindroid alike…” Wu says in thought before looking to Zane. “That appears to be the case. Non-Oni cannot use the masks for very long. It is safe to assume as well the time limit for humans is even shorter than a Nindroid’s.” He looked to Cryptor next.

“Worn for long enough, the masks may even kill. You must limit your usage of the Mask of Vengeance from now on Cryptor. For the sake of your health.” Wu told him sternly.

“I’m o-” He was interrupted by a well timed coughing fit proving his words wrong.

“You Cry, are going to rest whether you like it or not.” Kai says threateningly, expression worried as he watched him shake with each cough.

By the time he was done, he was light headed again with more oil running from his eye. He wiped it away using the clean side of the rag before letting his body go limp, his headache moving on from throbbing to pounding. He closed his eyes to try and shut out the pain.

______________

Cryptor found himself waking up, confused as to when he even passed out. A look around showed that it was almost sun up. He blinked down at the blanket tucked under his chin, noticing that it had stray drops of oil. As far as to his stomach. He didn’t recall having a coughing fit that bad to projectile cough oil that far. He must have done it while he was out… He noticed a shift in the room and looked down- only to blink at the sight of all four ninja asleep in front of the couch he was in, heads on their pillows and blankets draped over their persons…

On the floor.

They’re that worried huh. He closed his eye again. He thought he was about to die back there so he suppose they have reason to be. Well… If him taking it easy is what they want then… He sighed softly.

_I suppose there’s no harm in that._

**Author's Note:**

> I'm my own beta so pardon the mistakes!


End file.
